Escape
by Dreams of Bellamy
Summary: This is a story about Dominic Howard from Muse, he lives in a sort of dystopian society. Sort of like '1984' but that book is 999999999999Xs better. A bit of romance here and there as the story progresses. Enjoy!
1. Escape I

**Disclaimers**: I really shouldn't have to say that this never happened. Seriously, if you think you're living in a society called "Dockeil," I... I have nothing to say. If you feel a sense of irony, like you've read something close to this before, it's because my sort of muse for this story was, y'know, the book? '_1984' _ by George Orwell, y'know... But this is far from the carbon copy of that brilliant book, it won't come near its brilliance. I'm _no_ George Orwell.

**Author's notes: **So, if you feel as if you already read this it is because I also posted it on LiveJournal. Since I'm more comfortable with Fanfiction's format, I'm just posting on here too. Hope you enjoy!

"_Kill your prayers for love and peace, you'll wake the thought police..."_ - Muse, _Resistance_

Dominic sits in his room, pondering just what had happened to him. He had been feeling these strange sensations for nearing a week now. "What have I done to... _Think_ so differently?" He asks himself as he glances at his journal entries in frustration, another new sensation that he did not yet know the name of.

**10/11: There is a girl at Secondary School, whenever I look at her, I become red, and I find myself gawking at her. Her name escapes me...**

**10/12: I tripped on a tree root today, normally I would just get right back up and keep going, but today I was stunned, looking around... To see if someone saw me? But why? The people around just walked along...**

**10/13: Thinking about what happened these past few days, nothing crosses my mind. Today, I'm got red again, but my hands are shaking, my teeth grinding together. Each sensation had a different effect on me... Wha**-

"Dominic," his mother calls for him at the bottom of the stairs, "Come eat, the Dockelifile has arrived!" At this, Dominic's head pops up, coming to a realization: '_That's it!' _he thought to himself. _Of course that's it! I've gotten away with not eating it for so long... maybe... maybe it's _changing _my way of thought! _He finishes out his entry in a hurried scrawl, "**It's the Dockelifile!**" He grabs the notepad and hides it in his drawer away from the peeping eyes of his mom and siblings. To prove his theory right, he knew what he had to do, he had to _test_ it. Eat it on and off for a week or two, observe the effects. And he would do it. "Dominic..." his mother calls again. "I'm coming, mother!" he exclaims in a tone, that he, nor his mother would not recognize as rude or disrespectful. He climbs down the stairs, and takes his seat in the kitchen, with his mom, and two younger siblings, Joseph, his obedient, 12-year-old brother and his even _smaller _sister, Kathleen, who had just recently turned 5 years of age.

You may have noticed the absence of a father figure? Well, about a year ago, Dominic's father was abducted by their leader and killed off for giving out secret information and plotting against the government. He worked under the Absolutist, and had close relations with the man. When he was executed, it went unknown; nobody remembered his _existence, _let alone his death. Everything about him was wiped away, and not even his family holds a memory of him.

As he sits down, a man dressed in an intimidating jumpsuit, holding a silver platter, stalks behind his chair and serves on his plate, the dreaded Dockeilfile. The man serves the rest of his family and exits, Dominic, being unusually observant spies the man's face as he exits, it almost looks.._.smug_. Unaware, Dominic grimaces back at the man and then looks down at his plate and grimaces once more. Dockelifile, a repulsive, gelatinous food, ordered, under the words of the Absolutist that _everyone _must eat. For it is "medicinal" food, meant to improve the health of the citizens. It's named after their society, "Dockeil". Before forking at it, a thought comes to Dominic, _"I wonder if the Absolutist actually eats this stuff..." _ He lifts the fork up to his mouth and takes the first bite; the first bite is always the worst, the gelatinous solid squirting a bitter liquid onto your tongue, stinging it until your taste buds are numb enough to put fire inside of your mouth without feeling pain. He cringes at the bitter taste and hurriedly takes another bite, immediately not tasting anything. The sensations he was formerly feeling dial down to nothing. His whole body goes numb. "What a blessed meal, we can only thank our dear Absolutist for such a blessing." His mother says. If Dominic weren't eating this meal, he would have laughed at such an absurd statement. But instead he murmurs, "I believe." along with his younger siblings. "You're all excused; you may go to bed...Good night."

"Good night, mother" the three youngsters say in unison, resembling the tone of an android. Unemotional, almost cold.

Despite being utterly unemotional, Dominic makes it a point to record his data onto his notepad the next day after school, when it started to wear off:

**10/14: (Eaten Night Before) There sure is a difference in the way I acted today, I saw the girl again- I didn't react the same way I did when I didn't eat Dockelifile...I'm going to test it a few more times and record my observations, like this: "10/15: (Not Eaten Night Before)... 10/16: (Eat Night Before)..." and so on. My theory is when I don't eat Dockelifile, the sensations take effect the following day, and when I do eat it, nothing happens. - The girl's name is Claire Waters... **

Claire Waters, the hands-down smartest girl in all Dockiel Secondary School. Despite her book-smarts, she wasn't aware of the lies told by the Absolutist, unlike Dominic, but in a way, she was _aware_. Some feelings could be actually _felt _by her and she could somewhat pinpoint them, unlike most citizens in Dockeil. Today, she felt... apprehensive... Apprehensive because she knew that when she got to school; she would be stared at by that peculiar boy. She wasn't sure of his name, but everyday... no every _other _day he stared at her from across the cafeteria during Midday Meal. She lets out a great sigh and makes her way down the stairs. She bids her "goodbyes" to her family, jumps on her bike and rides to school. She observes the community around her, taking in all of sights she sees every day during the week. The Kindergarteners are being escorted to school by their mentors, and some adults are driving to their assigned Job-Station.

Claire's friend, Ariel catches sight of her and rides faster to get next to her. "Good morning, Claire!" Ariel greets with a smile, of course they can smile, it's only one of the two facial expressions they can make, smiling and a face of indifference. Nothing really affects them. Not sadness, not anger, love... nothing, really. Unless they were to stop eating Dockelifile.

"G'morning, Ariel..." Claire replies, distracted, looking around for something or someone. "Are you looking for someone?" her friend questions, starting to follow her friend's suit. "Yeah... I'm just... not sure _who_..." The girl replies, her eyes growing tired from looking around. "Is it that kid from Midday Meal-Time? The one whose eyes are always fixed on yours?" Ariel adds more inquiries than answers. "Yes...I...I just don't know his name..."

"I wonder why he always looks at you. Do you think he wants to talk to you?"

"Maybe... I don't know... But that's why I want to find him; I want to confront him about it. There is something peculiar about him..."

They finally made it to school, mounted off of their bikes and headed off to their first period class. During roll-call, Claire's head perks up at the name, "Dominic Howard"

_That... That's _him_! That is the name of the boy I was looking for this morning! _

She turns around to glance at the boy, right next to her, who murmurs the word, "Here, Preceptor," The boy glances over at Claire and smiles. A smile different from one that Claire, or any other citizen of Dockeil, would recognize. It was a hopeful smile, Dominic smiled as if he had something planned for the girl next to him. And, in fact, he did. After visiting some "Allies" he understands the sensations that he has been experiencing. He wanted to so badly to talk to the girl during class, but it wouldn't be normal and this could get him in trouble with the Absolutist. So he would approach the girl during Midday Meal-Time.

Three classes passed and it was finally time for lunch. Dominic walked down the halls, trying to seem natural, having small-talk-ish conversations with a couple of his friends. He would never say this aloud, but he found these conversations tedious and irrelevant. When he finally made his way into the cafeteria, his eyes darted around the room in search of the girl.

Claire can see him, making his way towards her seat, masking his emotions, in case someone were watching him. "Hi." He says, struggling to keep a straight face. "Hello, Dominic." she replies, a polite smile stretching across her face. He sits down across from her, putting his tray down before and starts eating silently before beginning a serious conversation.

He takes a last sip of water before clearing his throat, "So, I have to ask you something..." he begins, forking his ravioli. She nods, just once, a solemn nod. "Have you...errm... Have you ever skipped out on, or thought about skipping out on eating the Dockelifile?" he inquires his voice dropping to a soft whisper, his right brow set higher than the other. She coughs, her eyes squinting, "Huh? Of course not. It's the rule, the _law!_" she replies in a matter-of-fact manner. "Before you jump to conclusions, please, Claire, hear me out... Please, I beg of you..." he pleads, she looks blankly at him, and he continues, "No, I haven't been eating it... Well, for the past week, I've been testing it on and off. I've noticed something about it; Every time I eat it, I have these extreme sensations, I won't go too far into the topic but they're called 'emotions.' And when I do eat it, those 'emotions' diminish, _poof_ they're gone and I'm like a robot... And with that, I need you to join me...To stop eating the Dockelifile." The girl continues to stares at him, "I... I'm going to report you to the-"

"NO! Don't do that!" he whispers, his teeth clamped together in impatience. "It's complete rubbish, what you're saying! Do you _really_ expect me to believe you, Dominic? And of all people, why did you confront me about it? You have closer acquaintances than I, don't you?" She asks a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Of course I do! But I chose you because...There's something about you... That makes me..." He pauses, trying to find the words, he ends up changing the whole context of his words, "I knew you would understand and accept it more than anyone else..." As he says this, Claire tries to process it, not sure at all if she understood his words. She wondered why he trusted her so much. How he explained something so difficult, so perfectly. He smiles at the girl, his unique way of smiling, his perfect teeth.


	2. Escape II

**Author's Notes: **

So! Here we are again, with chapter 2! I don't have to do any disclaimers again, do I? Okay...good...Also, I don't think I have lyrics for this chapter, mostly because as I'm typing this, I'm listening to Too Much Love Will Kill You by Queen. This song has nothing to do with this chapter... I blame shuffle. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! :D

Claire waits patiently in the family room with her mother, father, and brother until the Dockelifile to arrive. She wanted to attempt to skip the meal today, but she was doubtful that she would succeed. _"What will my parents do if they notice I'm not eating it?" _she asks herself as the door opens and the men in jumpsuits march in with platters. The family get up in an almost robotic, automatic manner and take their seats in the kitchen. The men serve the Dockelifile to each family member and then promptly exit the household. Claire looks around the table at her family, as they all bite into the food, not even a slight twitch at the first taste from any of the people. _"maybe...maybe I should just eat it...just today... I need to know how Dominic gets away with _not_ eating this meal." _Instead of skipping out on the food, as she promised Dominic, she takes the bite, also not noticing the odd taste or the way it was affecting her. When the meal is over with her dad goes on to say,"What a blessed meal, we can only thank our dear Absolutist for such a blessing." to which his family replied, "I believe." The father dismisses his children to bed, wishing them a good night.

At Midday Mealtime the next day, Claire decides to purposely sit where Dominic usually sits before he got there. Her friend questioned her, but she covered it by saying, "Sorry, Ariel... I need to talk to him privately. I'll sit next to you next time. He _really _wants to talk to me." Ariel gives Claire a look of understanding and shuffles back to her normal table. Claire sees Dominic enter the cafeteria and sits patiently as if not to raise any suspicion. He is shocked to see her sitting at his table when he arrives. "Good afternoon, Dominic." she greets. "Good afternoon, indeed!" he replies enthusiastically, with a bright smile. His face slightly changes for a moment, but he composes himself in time before anyone could notice. Claire, however, did take notice of this rapid change in his face. "What was that?" she asks.

"What? Do you mean my facial expressions? Why I turned red?" he replies, throwing in more unanswered questions. "Oh... I didn't notice you turning red... You changed all too quickly to notice." she murmurs, becoming intrigued. "Well, I change color because...That... it... goes along with...how you supposedly make me 'feel', I guess... I found a friend who explained this to me... but I'm not sure if I understand it thoroughly." Dominic tries to explain it, the way his friend did, but was missing a few key points. "Why does it change so quickly?" Claire continues to ask. "I have to compose myself because if I don't as quickly as possible, and someone like a Mentor or a Server or even the Absolutist, catches sight of me in this way, I could be seriously punished," he pauses, trying to think of the quote his friend told him, "'Our society is a very corrupt one,'" he whispers, "Dockelifile really does have an affect on our brains. I think it's poisoning us, slowly, until we become immune. Adults only continue eat that toxin so their children will follow suit. They're basically ill beyond a cure... That's why I want you to stop eating it as soon as possible. We're so close to becoming immune..." He looks at her, his eyes burning into hers, alas, the stare proved to be ineffective when she had Dockelifile in her system. "Your safety is all that matters to me at this point." She blinks, feeling his whispers cool on her skin, yet his words adding on a burning sensation. "Dominic, if Dockelifile is so poisonous why does the Absolutist eat it himself?" she challenges on reflex. He puffs into his cheeks in frustration. "The Absolutist has no care in the world about us. He thinks, that if we lose our emotions, we'll have a perfect society and obey his every whim. He doesn't eat Dockelifile, he wants to be the only one who can express emotions." He says. "Emotions? What are you talking about, these 'emotions'?" She says, her face bell for the next class rings and Dominic sighs, "Meet me in the park after dinner tonight, make sure you've skipped the meal and I'll explain how emotions work where no one will bother us."

"But... how do you not eat it, without getting caught?" He laughs, "Oh, it's fairly easy. All I did was throw it out when no one was looking..." she gives him a look of doubt. "It'll work, trust me..." He whispers, getting up to go to his next class.

After the servers made their way out of the household, Claire stares at her dish, in deep thought. Taking her fork, she spears the jelly-like substance and brings it to eye-level, closely observing it. It was an opaque, off-white color, and jiggled with the slightest twitch of the hand. She looks up at her family and observes them. They all had just finished their last bite, every move they made seemed robotic. Their eyes were glazed over, her father echoes the Dockeil Appeal, along with her mom and siblings. She watched in amazement as her her two brothers were sent to bed, her presence going unnoticed by the rest of them. _"It's like I've suddenly become invisible..." _she thinks to herself. She takes this moment to rid herself of the wretched food as her parents make their way upstairs to bed. An alien reaction started to overcome Claire, a warm, salty liquid running down her face. "Dominic was right...about everything..." Claire says to herself as she witnesses her parents, astounded. Her eyes start to fall heavily. She yawns, a human reflex she hasn't experienced until this moment. She had no idea what it was like to be physically _tired_, it was just another robotic adaptation the absolutist intended for the citizens of Dockeil. "I have to meet Dominic in the park!" She exclaims, shaking out of her sleepiness. Claire slips through the door, making sure she didn't make a sound.

"Dominic...?" She calls out when a figure comes into sight from a bench. It was so dark, she could barely see her feet set firmly on the ground. "I'm here..." He says, crooking a finger out to her, gesturing for her to sit next to him. Claire squints to focus on Dominic's movements and then finally makes her way to the bench. "Good evening, Claire!" He greets her with a smile that seemed bright even in pure darkness. She smiles back, this time her smile was genuine, humanized. "Same to you, Dominic." Dominic could hear a change in her voice, it was her natural, un-drugged voice. It was as sweet as sugar, his skin warmed at the sound of it. "So, how was it? Skipping the meal? Odd, aye?" He asks. She nods, "Absolutely! It felt as if my family were dead, and I was just becoming alive!" He looks at her with a warm gaze, "But it also was like you were the one that was actually dead, yes?"

"Exactly, my family didn't acknowledge me once after they had consumed the meal..." She trails, leaning toward Dominic for a better view. "It was the same for me... So, are you aware of what you have been _feeling _since you skipped the meal? Describe how you felt after," Dominic pushes, "And I don't think we should be here for too long..."

"Well..." Claire hesitates for a moment, twiddling her fingers in thought. "When I saw my parents, their blank stares, how they neglected my precence I... I had this really odd- I'm not quite sure _what _it was...but this started to happen." She struggled to explain until she felt the strange liquid drip from her eyes as they had earlier. Dominic reached out, stroking her face with his thumb to wipe the tear and scooting closer to her. He frowns, wishing she didn't feel the way she did. "From what I've learned... I'm thinking you we're experiencing 'sadness.'" He murmurs, continuing to stroke her face, the feeling comforting not only to her, but to him also. "'Sadness?'" She whimpers, leaning into his touch, not sure of what he was doing to her, though it was a pleasant feeling. "Err, yeah...I'm not sure, though, even the simplest of emotions are difficult to explain."

"C-could you name some?" She asks, the warmth of Dominic's body pulling her closer until their thighs touched. "Hmmm," he hums, staring at their touching skin, "Well...There's Happiness...there is sadness, anger...those are the basic ones." He eyes Claire, knowing she would want more of an explanation, her eyes wide in intrigue. "Happiness is...It's kind of like...Let's put it this way: you skipped your meal and came all this way to talk to me about it, that makes me happy. Puts a smile on my face..." He stammers through his explanation and smiles nervously. "So, happiness is a good feeling." Claire states, beginning to comprehend it. Dominic nods and smiles. He continues to explain the other emotions he named, having to stop from time to time to answer Claire's queries.

"And then there are more complex emotions such as...Excitement, frustration, melancholy, anxiety and others...then there's, erm...'_love'._" Dominic swallows heavily, the sound of the word making him uneasy. He swings his leg that was touching Claire's across his other, making sure nothing on them touched, he finally drops his hand from her face. "Why such an emphasis on 'love'? What is it?" Claire inquires, the spot on her face where Dominic caressed, suddenly becoming cold. "Errm, I- I can't explain it..." He stammers, shaking his head and looking down to avoid her eyes further. "Maybe one day, I'll take you to the friends I've met, they can explain this much better than I can... Maybe we should both be heading back to our homes, I'll see you at school tomorrow, Claire." Dominic rises from the bench and crosses his arms, waiting for The girl to rise. "I guess, you're right...Bye, Dominic..." she starts to head toward her house, but something stops her, "Wait!" She calls to him as he walks away. He stops in his tracks and turns around, seeing Claire run back to him. "Thank you so much, Dominic...really." her arms move mechanically toward the boy, neither of them quite sure of what Claire's arms were about to do. Her arms wrap around him awkwardly, for Claire, it just seemed like a natural instinct. Dominic responds by pulling her closer, "Err...y-you're welcome, Cl-Claire..." he gulps, the warmth of we body overwhelming him. He let go reluctantly and folded his hands behind his back. "Good night, Claire..."

"Good night, Dominic." He turns around for the second time and heads for his home, his conversation with Claire he ha tonight still lingering in his head.

_...then there's, erm...'love'._

_Why such an emphasis on 'love'? What is it?_

_I- I can't explain it..._

"Dominic," Claire says, approaching the boy after school the next day, "I want to know more...about emotions." He voice drops down to a whisper as Dominic averts his eyes to make sure no one was eavesdropping into their conversation. "I said I would take you to meet my friends, didn't I?" He grills, sounding a bit frustrated. "Yes, I know! But when _exactly _do you plan on doing that?"

"Soon!" He exclaims, throwing his hands in the air angrily. "Dominic..." She murmurs calmly, refraining from putting her hands on his arm to comfort him. "I'm sorry..." He mouths, Claire didn't hear him.

_Hi, there! Well, first of all I would like to apologize for the delay, I could blame it on a number of things, but it was mostly my fault. I've been lazy with my writing, and I just finished writing this chapter...a week ago or so. So it's been about six month since I updated... The good news is, I'll have the next chapter up sooner and it won't take me 3894382104 years to post it, I promise. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I thank you for reading it~_


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